Catfish
Blue Catfish · Channel Catfish · Flathead Catfish
Blue and channel catfish: 50 combined daily and in possession; no minimum. No more than 5 may be 30 inches or longer. 5 flathead catfish daily; minimum length 18 inches.
Official lake regulations ↗
Habitat on Lake Livingston
Turbid water, a major river channel and tributary creeks.
Fishing approach
White bass: spring tributaries. Striped bass: spoons or live shad near the US 190 bridge. Bass: northern bays and creeks in spring/fall. Blue/channel catfish: organic or live baits along channels.
Lake fishing guide ↗Blue Catfish: women of childbearing age and children under 12 — DO NOT EAT; adult men and women past childbearing age — at most 1 meal/month. Channel Catfish: This species is not named in the active lake advisory. That does not establish that the fish is safe to eat. Flathead Catfish: women of childbearing age and children under 12 — DO NOT EAT; adult men and women past childbearing age — at most 1 meal/month.
Official consumption guidance ↗Species within this group
Blue Catfish
Harvest: Blue and channel catfish: 50 combined daily and in possession; no minimum. No more than 5 may be 30 inches or longer.
Eating guidance: women of childbearing age and children under 12 — DO NOT EAT; adult men and women past childbearing age — at most 1 meal/month.
Forked tail and a relatively straight-edged anal fin. Count anal-fin rays using an identification reference.
Channel Catfish
Harvest: Blue and channel catfish: 50 combined daily and in possession; no minimum. No more than 5 may be 30 inches or longer.
Eating guidance: This species is not named in the active lake advisory. That does not establish that the fish is safe to eat.
Forked tail; younger fish commonly show dark body spots. The anal-fin edge is more rounded than in blue catfish.
Flathead Catfish
Harvest: 5 flathead catfish daily; minimum length 18 inches.
Eating guidance: women of childbearing age and children under 12 — DO NOT EAT; adult men and women past childbearing age — at most 1 meal/month.
Broad flattened head, projecting lower jaw and a tail that is not deeply forked.
Individual lake profiles
Choose the species for its own identification, harvest rules and eating guidance on this lake.
Source & occurrence note
Occurrence documented in the TPWD lake guide, fisheries survey or historical records. Historical evidence does not establish present abundance. Current harvest rules were checked separately from older survey regulations.